Bellwork Assignment Answer the following questions in ONE PARAGRAPH: What do you know about writing a research paper? What is the hardest part of writing a research paper? Why is this part of the process hard for you? *I expect everyone to be quiet and working on the bellwork when I enter the room.*

The ALMIGHTY RESEARCH Paper

What is Research Writing? Research is: - Gathering materials from different sources and organizing the information in a way to educate readers. You must understand that a research paper focuses on the information you get from other sources, NOT just on your own information!

What a Research Paper is NOT… A research paper is NOT simply an informed summary of a topic by using primary and secondary sources. The goal of a research paper is NOT just to inform the reader what others have to say about a topic, but to draw on what others have to say about a topic and offer a unique perspective on the issue.

WAIT……WHAT??? A research paper is actually a WRITTEN piece of work IN YOUR OWN WORDS that fully discusses a topic that you have spent time learning about. It is to be in-depth and intelligent with support from credible sources. This paper will be YOUR work, but you have based your knowledge on the credible work of others. Sounds difficult? It’s not really so bad; actually, it gets pretty easy.

There’s NO NEED to become this…….we will work on this TOGETHER.

Magazine or Newspaper Articles Books Internet Web Journals

Plagiarism Plagiarism is when you take someone else’s works, ideas or words and use them as your own. Whether it is a sentence, a part of a sentence or an entire paper, it will ruin your grade! It is an academic crime and an ethical offense. Plagiarism is stealing someone’s intellectual property. If you plagiarize in ANY college class, you are usually expelled from the college, cannot reapply EVER, and the infraction is placed on your permanent record. Why is it an academic crime? It is an academic crime because you are stealing another person’s ideas. It is illegal and immoral. If you are thinking about it, don’t chance it. If I suspect plagiarism, I will look it up on the Internet, it will show up, and you WILL receive a zero! If you ever need help summarizing, properly quoting or paraphrasing, see me! It’s better to ask for extra help than take the sneaky route and copy someone else’s writing. I will have more respect for you if you ask for help.

Important Rules to Remember When Writing… Third person ONLY (he, she, they, it) No reference to self is allowed (I, me, my, ours, we) “You” is not allowed Any time you feel like you want to use “you,” use “the reader” instead No contractions No abbreviations Spell out numbers 0-9; use the actual number for 10 and above (unless it’s at the beginning of a sentence)

Steps for Writing a Research Paper

How Do I Choose a Topic? Think about things that you like and are interested in. For example: Weather Famous people or athletes Historical events Vacation spots Technology Things to consider before choosing a topic: Will I be able to find enough information on my topic? Will I be able to read the information I find? Will it be too hard to understand? Will I learn something new?

Things to consider when choosing a topic Choose a subject that interests you. Choose a subject for which a wide range of source material is readily available. You need to be able to find reliable sources on your topic. Choose a subject of some significance. A subject of lasting interest will be challenging and gratifying to pursue. You will be spending a great deal of time and effort on this so make sure it's of value.

Things to consider when choosing a topic After you have chosen a general topic, you must narrow it so that it becomes more specific and easier to research.

Topics and Specific topics Remember a topic is a big idea for your research. Topics are usually TOO big in fact! This means we need to narrow down our topic idea into a specific topic. A specific topic will be easier to research and easier to write about. You’re not writing a book; you’re writing a research paper.

General Topic: Narrowed Topic: 1. Alcoholism 2. Scientists/Mathematicians 3. Drugs 4. Elizabethan England 5. Tennis Narrowed Topic: 1. Causes of Alcoholism 2. Albert Einstein's Impact on the 20th Century 3. Effects of Drug Use in Teens 4. Health Concerns in Shakespeare's England 5. The Rise in Popularity of Women's Tennis

After we Narrow our topics, then what? We will then narrow our topics even further into sub-topics. Your sub-topics are the points you will be arguing in the body paragraphs of your research paper.

GENERAL TOPIC: Eating Disorders Example: How to Narrow Topic to Sub-Topics GENERAL TOPIC: Eating Disorders BROAD TOPIC: Anorexia Nervosa SPECIFIC TOPIC: Physical Effects of Anorexia Nervosa Sub-Topic 1: Depletion of Vitamins and Minerals in the body Sub-Topic 2: Negative side effects on internal organs Sub-Topic 3: Heart issues

Time For You to Work on It! Look at the Narrowing Your Topic Worksheet Take about 10 minutes to fill it out

How Do I Decide What I Want to Research About My Specific Topic? Once you have determined a topic and specific topic, you will be ready to start thinking about what you know, what you want to know, and later, what you’ve learned. Look at the KWL Chart that I handed out to you. Fill out the “What I Know” and the “What I Want to Know” sections of the KWL Chart. You will fill out the “What I’ve Learned” section later on. I will give you a few minutes to do this! Let’s have a few people share what they wrote!

Thesis Statement Once you decide on your specific topic and sub-topics, you will need to develop a thesis statement, which tells the reader specifically what will be covered in the paper. I will teach you how to write a thesis statement when we get to that point. Everything that you write in your paper should connect back to your thesis statement.

When I start researching, how do I know if a site is CREDIBLE? You should know that only a few select sites can be credible. Follow this checklist to ensure that you can actually use the source. Know the name of the AUTHOR of the site, and their credentials (Dr., Researcher, Journalist, etc…) Know what company or organization this site is affiliated with. Know WHERE this site exists. Know what type of information is being expressed. The following endings on web addresses usually indicate a reliable source: edu (education website), org (organization website), or gov (government website). Wikis (like WIKIPEDIA) and personal blogs are NOT credible sources! DO NOT USE THESE!!!!

Example of a Good Website: Example of a Bad Website: Smithsonian Article In 1854, in neighboring Jewett City, Connecticut, townspeople had exhumed several corpses suspected to be vampires that were rising from their graves to kill the living. A few newspaper accounts of these events survived. Had the Griswold grave been desecrated for the same reason? In the course of his far-flung research, Bellantoni placed a serendipitous phone call to Michael Bell, a Rhode Island folklorist, who had devoted much of the previous decade to studying New England vampire exhumations. The Griswold case occurred at roughly the same time as the other incidents Bell had investigated. And the setting was right: Griswold was rural, agrarian and bordering southern Rhode Island, where multiple exhumations had occurred. Many of the other “vampires,” like J.B., had been disinterred, grotesquely tampered with and reburied. Horror Coffee Blog Spot I love vampires....not the silly Twilight versions mind you, I'm talking about hardcore, gothic, kill em all vamps. Out of all of the vampire films that have arisen since the heydays of Dracula and the Hammer films, there are two series I absolutey love involving vampires...True Blood and Underworld. Underworld is more of a fantasy series as opposed to horror. I tell you it's something that has come out of comic books and video games. An age old hostiltiy between vampires and werewolves (Likens) goes terribly wrong when it involves the descendant of Alexander Corvinus, the founding father of both races. It kind of reminds me of how Abraham is the father of both Jews and Arabs and how there is hostility there. 

From the good site you could clearly see WHO wrote the article, WHY they were a credible source, and INFORMATION that would actually help you with your research. Furthermore, look at the WEB ADDRESS, the Smithsonian is a well-known, credible organization. The bad site is quite opposite. It is based on opinion “I love vampires….” , has irrelevant quotes as to helping you, and has no credible author or company to back them up. Furthermore, look at the address. Any time it is from a personal blog or any other company that allows any and all individuals to make personal web pages, it is usually NOT a credible or accepted source.

1 online magazine, newspaper, or journal article Sources Ms. Beeson will show you how to utilize an online database to help you find magazine, journal, and newspaper articles that connects to your topic. We will be in the library several days to do research. You will use this time to work on your research paper, not to play on the Internet or goof off with friends!! Sources You Will Need: 1 online magazine, newspaper, or journal article 4 websites

Sources We will tackle one source a day. You will be required to read through each source and highlight information that you think will be beneficial to use in your research paper. Not all the information is connected to YOUR specific topic. As you read, highlight sentences that are related to your sub-topic. Do NOT highlight everything!! You only need to highlight the information you will use in your paper!

Why Do I Even Need Sources?? If writers could only write about topics that they are experts in, they would have a limited amount of topics to write about. The use of sources in your paper makes your paper credible or trustworthy. If you just used your opinion about a topic, your paper would not be credible because it is based on opinion instead of facts. Statistics, quotes, surveys, and other forms of research can help you establish your point and influence the reader to agree with you.

How Can I Incorporate Sources into My Paper? Quotations – using the author’s exact words Example: According to the Writing Center of UNC, if you use the author’s exact words you need to “be sure to introduce each quotation you use, and always cite your sources.” UNC Writing Center Web Page Paraphrase – putting an author’s words into your own words Summary – giving an overview of an entire text instead of a specific part of the text like paraphrasing does

Once I start researching my topic, what do I do with the information? On the first day in the library, look up information on your subtopics to make sure you have enough information to use in your paper. When you find a good article, PRINT the information out!! You will need this later on! You MUST READ the information! While reading, HIGHLIGHT important sentences that you could use in your research paper. Once you decide to use a source, you will need to make a source card and a note card for that source.

Source Cards Once you find a source that you are going to use in your paper, you will need to make a source card. The source cards will help you with your in-text citations and your Works Cited Page. The source cards will contain information about the author, publisher, date of publication, and other important information. DO NOT throw out your source cards at any point in the process! Will count as a quiz grade

Note Cards The highlighted notes that you take from your sources will need to be written down on note cards. The note cards will help you to know what you will be using in your paper. We will discuss how to do note cards when we get to that process in class. Note cards will count as a quiz grade.

Will count as a quiz grades. Works Cited Page Your Works Cited Page will be the last page of your paper. It is basically a list of all of the sources you used in your paper. You will use your source cards to develop this page. It is done in MLA format, which I will show you how to do. Will count as a quiz grades.

In-text Citations In-text citations give credit to the author or source you used in your paper. If you do not give credit to the author or source, it is plagiarism. You must understand that a research paper focuses on the information you get from other sources, NOT on your own information! Therefore, the information you use has to be “cited.” I will show you how to do these!

In-text Citations Here is an example of an in-text citation: In a recent study by the FDA, researchers found that over 70% of high school students have thought about taking steroids in order to enhance their performance (Livingston 56). This is the name of the author of the source and the page number where the student found the information.

Last Step WRITE THE PAPER!!!

Create something you are proud of altogether. Every step in the research paper process is graded and will contribute to the final product. If you choose to become lazy at any point in the process, it will affect the final product and frustrate you in the end. Take PRIDE in your work and REMEMBER: it reflects your work ethic and commitment to excellence. Create something you are proud of altogether.

Questions??